Minneapolis man convicted of aiding Somali terrorists

Jurors found Mahamud Said Omar, 46, of Minneapolis, guilty Thursday on five counts of conspiracy and financing a terror operation in Somalia, news sources report.

Omar was convicted for helping the militant Islamic group al-Shabaab "recruit young Minnesota men for a holy war aimed at toppling the government of their native Somalia and imposing a harsh form of Islamic rule across the Horn of Africa" since 2007, Star Tribune reports.

Omar also allegedly provided money to upkeep an al-Shabaab safe house for the Americans in Somalia and bought two AK-47s for them, according to the Pioneer Press.
In the trail, Omar's defense rested without presenting a witness. The government had 17 witnesses and introduced 150 exhibits against Omar. These exhibits included detailed telephone and money records and al-Shabaab propaganda videos, Pioneer Press reports.

Omar, a part-time janitor at the Abubakar As-Saddique Islamic Center, faces up to life in prison, Star Tribune reports.